[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 88 (Monday, May 7, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26736-26737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10924]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

    The Department of Commerce will submit to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance the following proposal for collection of 
information under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 
U.S.C. chapter 35).
    Agency: U.S. Census Bureau.
    Title: 2012 National Census Test.
    OMB Control Number: None.
    Form Number(s): Questionnaire: DA-1; Letters: DA-5(L), DA-16(L)(1), 
DA-16(L)(2), DA-17(L)(1), DA-17(L)(2), DA-17(L)(3); Reminder Postcards: 
DA-9, DA-9(2A), DA-9(2B), DA-9(2C); Envelopes: DA-5, DA-6A(IN), DA-
6A(1)(IN), DA-8A; Internet Instruction Card: DA-33.
    Type of Request: New collection.
    Burden Hours: 16,668.
    Number of Respondents: 80,000.
    Average Hours per Response: 10 minutes.

[[Page 26737]]

    Needs and Uses: The Census Bureau has committed to using the 
Internet as a primary response option in the 2020 Census. However, much 
research is needed throughout the next decade to develop and implement 
a successful, secure, and user-friendly online instrument. The Census 
Bureau must conduct a series of research projects and tests throughout 
this decade to fulfill its commitment to provide the public with an 
option to complete their 2020 Decennial Census questionnaire on the 
Internet. One of the first tests to support this planning effort is the 
2012 National Census Test (NCT).
    The 2012 NCT seeks to build on previous Internet data collection 
research in order to set the stage for the Internet testing cycle for 
the 2020 Census. The main objective is to test new, dynamic approaches 
for collecting the number of people in a household, which are not 
feasible on a paper questionnaire. The anticipated use of the Internet 
as a primary mode of self-response in the 2020 Census offers the unique 
opportunity to incorporate conditional residence probes. By making 
optimal use of electronic data collection for delivery of coverage 
probes, we can gain a better understanding of who was living in a 
household on Census Day, thereby greatly reducing (or potentially 
eliminating) the need for the costly Coverage Followup (CFU) operation. 
The goal is to optimize the residence rules presentation for the 
Internet mode and identify validated methods for determining residency. 
We will utilize a real-time, targeted, probing coverage reinterview 
conducted by telephone to evaluate the accuracy of within-household 
coverage by comparing the final household population roster for the 
Internet Test households to the final reinterview roster for the same 
households.
    As a secondary objective of the 2012 NCT, the Census Bureau aims to 
study the relative response rates associated with various contact 
strategies under an Internet Push methodology, in an effort to obtain 
early response rate indicators for the 2020 Census. The 2012 Internet 
Test sets the stage for future testing by making important strides in 
obtaining a select subset of contact strategy options that can be 
validated in later mid-decade tests. Various contact strategies 
involving optimizing the Internet push strategy are proposed, such as 
implementing relatively less expensive reminders both before and after 
the questionnaire mailing, which builds off recent American Community 
Survey (ACS) results. Also included is the removal of the advance 
letter mailing, new motivational wording and varying the timing of the 
questionnaire mailing to optimize self-response.
    Additionally, without impact to sample size, the 2012 NCT offers 
the opportunity to gain knowledge about how to optimize the 
presentation of the race and Hispanic origin questions.
    Results from the 2010 Alternative Questionnaire Experiment reveal 
that the combination of the race and Hispanic origin question approach 
appears to be a promising strategy for collecting these data items. As 
an additional secondary objective, the Census Bureau plans to continue 
this research by implementing two versions of a combined race and 
Hispanic origin question as part of the 2012 NCT. In addition, this 
data collection will incorporate the use of predictive text to automate 
and streamline the race and Hispanic origin coding processes. This 
component allows for near-real-time data processing by increasing the 
speed of automated coding, thus reducing and/or eliminating back-end 
processing.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Frequency: One time.
    Respondent's Obligation: Mandatory.
    Legal Authority: Title 13, United States Code, Section 141, 193, 
and 225.
    OMB Desk Officer: Brian Harris-Kojetin, (202) 395-7314.
    Copies of the above information collection proposal can be obtained 
by calling or writing Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance 
Officer, (202) 482-0336, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 
[email protected]).
    Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB Desk Officer either by fax (202-395-7245) 
or email ([email protected]).

    Dated: May 2, 2012.
Glenna Mickelson,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2012-10924 Filed 5-4-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-07-P